Two Types of People

Two Types of People

1987 3 March 6-7 Two Types of People (673) “By Teen and Zaytoon, Mount Sinai and this inviolable city. Certainly we created man with the most noble image and in the end we shall reduce him to the lowest of the low; except the believers who do good works, for theirs shall be a boundless recompense. What then, can after this make you deny the Last Judgement? Is Allah not the best of judges?” (95:8)

Teen and Zaytoon are hills in Palestine near which is situated Bayt al-Maqdis, the place where Jesus Christ was born and received his vocation. Mount Sinai is famous for being the place where God spoke to Moses. The “Inviolable city” – Mecca – is the place where prophethood was conferred upon Muhammad. It is mentioned in the Bible that “The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.” (Deuteronomy, 33:2). In the eyes of the Jews, the greatest man ever was Moses, while, for the Christians, it was Jesus. The Quran specifically mentions the names of these ancient and hallowed prophets along with that of the Final Prophet in order to emphasize how, with their advent, carne the demonstration of a great truth, namely, that human beings must be placed in two quite opposite categories: the noble, and the degraded – the “lowest of the low”. When a prophet comes to the world, he comes to preside over God’s tribunal, separating one class of individuals from the other like the wheat from the chaff. His preaching is like the powerful churning action which separates the butter from the buttermilk. In this way, he draws a distinct line between those who bow to the truth and those who flout it. When such a difference exists between these two types of people, how can their fates be identical? Clearly, those who display contumacy for the divine message will burn forever in Hell, whilst those who accept it will reside forever in Paradise.

In any settlement, whenever a preacher from God arises to address a gathering, it is like God Himself speaking to the people through a human tongue. While some people respond positively to this call, there are others who deny it. It is those who have kept their true natures alive who recognize the call to truth, just as a child recognizes the call of its mother and responds to it. They recognize as a call from God and run to do His bidding. It makes such an impact upon the intellect that they are immediately imbued with feelings of submission, humility and devotion. Seeing the truth for what it is, they direct the wagon of their lives along the path of God. Nothing, not even self-interest, questions of honour or fears of inexpediency, can stop them from treading this path. But there are others who, having corrupted the vision and hearing which God gave them, are unable to hear His call or read his signs, be they plain as plain can be. Transitory interests, public pressure and personal expediency loom so large on their horizons that they attach an exaggerated importance to them, forgetting that there is nothing so vital in life as the truth. Having put worldly needs above all else in life, they have thrown the imperatives of the next world to the winds. Lost in themselves, they fail to turn to God.

The Prophet said:” When one of you recites At-teen waz-zaytoon, and he comes to the end of it, where it is said that Allah is the best of judges, he should say: ‘Surely, and I am one of those who bear witness to this.”

According to some traditions, the prophet recited this verse, then added: “Glory be to Thee, and surely so!” In the Quran, it is deemed desirable that, when an individual recites this, he should be inwardly moved by what he reads and that his response to the subjects mentioned therein should be sincere and wholehearted.